Two Florida Republicans are leading the charge on Capitol Hill in calling out the United Nations for an anti-Israel bias.
Towards the end of last week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, paired up with U.S. Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., in sending a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the matter. All 100 members of the Senate signed off on the letter.
“The United States co-founded the United Nations with the intention of saving future generations from war and reaffirming fundamental human rights,” the senators wrote. “While much good is being done and has been done by the body, many of its member states and agencies are using the U.N.’s privileged platform to advance an anti-Israel agenda. Too often, the U.N. is exploited as a vehicle for targeting Israel rather than as a forum committed to advancing the lofty goals of its founders. These actions have at times reinforced the broader scourge of anti-Semitism, and distracted certain U.N. entities from their original missions.
“Although, as Republicans and Democrats, we disagree on many issues, we are united in our desire to see the United Nations improve its treatment of Israel and to eliminate anti-Semitism in all its forms,” the senators continued. “Through words and actions, we urge you to ensure that Israel is treated neither better nor worse than any other U.N. member in good standing. To that end, we commend the words of our nation’s Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, who recently stated, ‘It is the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias that is long overdue for change.’”
The senators called for eliminating standing committees “which far too often serve no purpose other than to attack Israel and inspire the anti-Israel boycott, sanctions, and divestment (BDS) movement" and urged the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to stress Jerusalem’s Christian and Jewish heritage. Turning to other UN bodies, the senators called for reforming the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to ensure they stop anti-Israel activities.
“As both the U.N.’s principal founding member and its largest contributor, the United States should insist on reform,” the senators wrote in conclusion. “As duly elected representatives of the American people, we take seriously our responsibility to conduct rigorous oversight of U.S. engagement at the United Nations. We are deeply committed to international leadership and to advancing respect for human rights. But continued targeting of Israel by the U.N. Human Rights Council and other U.N. entities is unacceptable. This situation must change. We urge you to engage member states in a comprehensive effort to directly confront and root out this bias. If you continue to build on your recent action, we stand ready to work with you to eliminate the organization’s anti-Israel bias, and to fight anti-Semitism in all its forms.”
Rubio is not the only member of the Florida delegation calling out the UN for its treatment of Israel. From her perch as chairwoman of the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. brought out the “Promoting Equality and Accountability at the United Nations Act” last week.
Ros-Lehtinen, who announced over the weekend that she will not run again in 2018, reeled in several House Republicans as sponsors including U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Ron DeSantis and Ted Yoho from Florida.
“The anti-Israel agenda at some United Nations agencies is toxic and has been allowed to continue for too long,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “At bodies like UNESCO or the UN Human Rights Council, there isn’t even a pretense of neutrality when it comes to the Jewish State. Continued U.S. engagement at these agencies cannot come unconditionally, otherwise we only serve to legitimize this anti-Israel bias. The U.S. taxpayers expect us to be responsible with their money and continuing to fund agencies that work against us, our allies and our interests is not a responsible use of their hard earned dollars. As the major contributor at the UN, America wields considerable leverage and it is time that we use that leverage to bring about reforms.”
